Even though the practice of explicitly discriminating against black and Latino homebuyers ended decades ago, metro Phoenix remains fairly segregated.

Whites are more than three times as likely as Latinos or African Americans to apply for home loans in Maricopa County, according to an Arizona Republic analysis of national data provided by the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Associated Press.

The 2016 data, adjusted for population size, also shows whites are more than five times as likely to apply for loans than Native Americans.

An analysis of the data on the U.S Census tract level shows clear lines where certain groups have decided to buy homes. The data shows, for example, that the northwest Valley and other far out suburbs of Phoenix had higher proportions of white home buyers. Meanwhile, the West Valley had a higher proportion of Latino home buyers.

Below, see two maps that depict how mortgages and segregation intersect in the Valley.

Where mortgage recipients were the whitest

hese tracts also had some of the lowest denial rates in the county, as all except two had rates lower than the county overall. The data indicates minorities didn't often apply for mortgages in these areas.

More than 90 percent of loans were given to white applicants in these pockets around the Valley. Most of these tracts are in the outer suburbs of Phoenix, including the retiree-heavy northwest Valley.

Where Latinos bought homes

Latinos, Arizona's largest minority, received more than 50 percent of the loans made in these areas.

Unlike the map for white loan recipients above, most of these tracts are clustered in the West Valley. Loan applications in most of these areas don't have all that much higher denial rates for minority applicants than the Phoenix metro area as a whole.

Reach the reporter at aphilip@gannett.com or on Twitter at @agnel88_philip.